Outright bans on plastic bags may not be the best solution, but education and incentives to get people to stop using them are necessary.

If we continue to set human borders and the economy as our highest priorities, we will never come to grips with the destructiveness of our activities and institutions.

The one thing I feel is very hopeful, however, is the overwhelming participation of women in the movement for change.

The event of creation did not take place so many eons ago, astronomically or biologically speaking. Creation is taking place every moment of our lives.

What permaculturists are doing is the most important activity that any group is doing on the planet. We don't know what details of a truly sustainable future are going to be like, but we need options, we need people experimenting in all kinds of ways and permaculturists are one of the critical gangs that are doing that.

If we have any hope of finding ways for seven billion people to live well on planet with finite resources, we have to learn to use our resources efficiently. Plastic bags are neither efficient nor environmentally friendly.

Global trade has advantages. For starters, it allows those of us who live through winter to eat fresh produce year-round. And it provides economic benefits to farmers who grow that food.